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Monday, October 13, 2008

In what is likely my last post of the month, I bid you all adieu, adios, arrivederci, au revoir and cheerio! We are on our way to see new places and people. And I am more excited than I can possibly express. We're nearly packed, have kind friends to take care of our plants, passports in hand and e-tickets in the other. Thank you for all your well-wishes. We'll post photos once we get back.

I've got my purse and everything that's important to me, and I'm all ready to go.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

It's breath-taking right? We stumbled on this beautiful hotel for our Europe trip and are excited to stay for 2 nights. It's a beauty with comforts like fluffy bathrobe (their words), slippers (no more cold feet Shannon), and complimentary magazines! Magazines! I can refresh in the large marble bathroom, or keep in touch with wireless internet access. I can swim lengths in the exclusive rooftop pool or experience complete relaxation at the Fitness and Wellness Center.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Compensator and I have decided to make an announcement. It's something we are excited about and have waited a long time for. Wait for it... Don't jump to conclusions just yet... No, it's not that... It's something we're doing. Guess again. It's fun and exciting and will provide us with many opportunities to take photos. Nope, not that... Okay, I'll just tell you.

What we are so excited about is we are going to Europe. We are leaving in two weeks and will be there for two weeks. Super exciting! TC and I have wanted to travel to Europe for years, but our travel budget has always been dedicated to visiting family in the land down under (not that land down under, different hemisphere). But we decided that as a capstone to the whole The Compensator is done with school celebration, we will travel to Europe and see Spain, Italy, France and England, in a very abbreviated way. We will only have a few days in each place, so we'll have to make the most of our time.

What we realized is that despite our love for travel, we have only once traveled entirely for pleasure, and that was last year when we went to Disneyland. There was no hidden agenda of visiting people or anything. Just pure, unadulterated fun. And boy was it fun. So we are hoping to have more of that this trip: just fun and sightseeing and touristy activities involving fanny packs, Hawaiian shirts and cameras. (Just kidding on the fanny pack. I'd rather perforate my eyelids than wear a fanny pack. And from what I understand it's not polite to say the word "fanny" in England. I need to brush up on my British.)

Speaking of languages, I need to brush up on my French. Despite the fact that I studied French for 5 years, the only phrases I remember are the following:1. Qu'est-ce que c'est? C'est nous partouts dans la foret. (Which translates to What is it? It's us everywhere in the forest. This will be useful when we are in the forest of Paris and want to announce that we are all over the place.)2. Tu veux une claque et allez a coucher sans diner? (This will be useful when I want to ask a native Parisian if they want a slap and to go to bed without dinner.)3. Les tomates sonnes ecrase. (This will be helpful in a street market when I want to explain that I do not want to buy those particular tomatoes because they are crushed.)4. J'ai faim. (Okay so this one is actually useful. I can announce to all of Paris as if they cared that I, humble American who speaks really no French, am hungry.)5. Je suis fatigue. (I'm tired. It could come in handy. I'm sure it could. Yeah. I'm imagining it now, in my head.)6. Fromage. (Cheese. It's not a phrase, but it could come in handy.)7. Je m'appelle Gordita. (My name is Gordita. I can introduce myself to any French-speaker I see. Of course, the conversation will have to end there unless they are interested in hearing about how the tomatoes are crushed and that we're everywhere in the forest.)8. Zut alors! (It's an exclamation. I am not aware of the actual meaning. But the French chef in the movie "The Little Mermaid" says it. "Zut alors! I have missed one. Sacre bleu! What is this? How on earth could I miss such a sweet little succulent crab?")9. Je voudrais... (I would like... Now if only I knew how to say words other than fromage and tomates.)

That's just my French. That's not saying anything about my Spanish (luckily TC can take care of that one for me), nor my Italian (which consists of lasagne, bologna, fortifica tuo fratelli, and Ferrari).

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The Compensator is my superhero. He has super human intelligence, the power to sense the slightest human suffering (name that show and get 50 points), is strong, can fix anything and keeps me safe. He can fly; he once flew 800 miles just to comfort me. He is willing to stand for justice. He goes the extra mile. He is my superhero in no uncertain terms. I'm a lucky gal to have the Compensator on my team.